


In Need of Time

by TenderMargarine



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, F/M, Immortality, Marriage, Post-Blue Lions Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22772968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TenderMargarine/pseuds/TenderMargarine
Summary: "Have you told him yet?" The question was almost accusatory in tone.She turned to look upon the scenery once again. Seteth sighed."You do realise quite how cruel it is to him? We have discussed this while you were still officially courting, long before the engagement. He doesn't know what he's gotten himself into.""You've said it's just a possibility.""You have made your choice today at the altar knowing what your life with him may bring. You didn't give him that privilege," she winced as the words stabbed her in the chest,  "and if it turns out to be a reality, you won't be able to keep it from him forever."Or,As the years went on, Byleth found that Sothis had a greater impact on her life than she expected.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 8
Kudos: 121





	In Need of Time

The day Byleth married had been the happiest day in her life.

She never was too keen on the idea of a grand wedding, neither was Dimitri for that matter, but with him being the crown prince to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, there wasn't much that could have been done about it. The preparations took months, every street in Fhirdiad was drowning in the royal colours, festivities would last up to a week and the guest list seemed endless. The pressure of having to hold the event of the year, if not the decade, had been only somewhat alleviated by the attendance of their fellow Blue Lions. 

Yet, even through all this and all the years that have passed, whenever she remembered how, every time he looked at her, his face lit up in a way she had never seen it do so before, she couldn't bring herself to wish anything had been different about that day.

******************

It was the second night of the celebrations and she already felt drained. She needed to get some fresh air before returning to the crowded halls. The reputation of Faerghus' cold weather preceded it, but Byleth felt people couldn't do it justice. Despite the ceremony being held in late spring, she clung to the fur coat draped over her shoulders.

The celebrations had still a long way before they met their end and the noise coming from inside had shown that fact, yet, as Byleth looked on at the night's landscape, she felt a quiet, calming atmosphere.

Until she heard approaching footsteps behind her, that is.

"I have to admit, the scale of the reception has far surpassed what I have witnessed in the last few decades." She turned to the voice drawing nearer and nearer, even though she recognised its owner as soon as the first words were spoken.

"Seteth." Byleth nodded her head in greeting. It felt strange seeing him again, as it had been a couple of years since they spoke last, not having done so since she left the Monastery with Dimitri and made Seteth her replacement as the Archbishop. She knew for a fact that he still hadn't forgiven her for not keeping true to Rhea's wishes.

"I wanted to congratulate you in person. May the goddess grant the both of you happiness for years on end," he said, kissing her hand.

"Thank you," Byleth replied, a bit too hastily than she wanted to. The green haired man studied her face for a brief moment.

"Have you told him yet?" The question was almost accusatory in tone.

She turned to look upon the scenery once again. Seteth sighed.

"You do realise quite how cruel it is to him? We have discussed this while you were still officially courting, long before the engagement. He doesn't know what he's gotten himself into."

"You've said it's just a possibility."

"You have made your choice today at the altar knowing what your life with him may bring. You didn't give him that privilege-" she winced as the words stabbed her in the chest- "and if it turns out to be a reality, you won't be able to keep it from him forever. He will die one day and you would have to look on, forever frozen as you are."

Byleth didn't give an answer. He was right and she knew it from the time he first brought the topic up.

"Thank you for your advice, archbishop," she said and walked towards the glass door of the balcony. She could see Dimitri inside, standing and chatting with Sylvain, Claude and some noble judging by the clothes. She couldn't hear Sylvain speaking, but the group's laughter had been visible. Dimitri looked so happy, peaceful almost.

The laughter died down and after a moment he finally noticed her standing on the balcony. He beckoned her to join him with his arm. Byleth took a deep breath and stepped through the door.

******************

One of the late summer evenings in their first year as husband and wife was when she finally brought it up. They had finished sparring not long before then and the fatigue was clearly visible. Byleth was perched on their bed, contemplating, while Dimitri was at a nearby desk reviewing some papers Gilbert had given him. He had a habit of frequently busying himself long into the night, always having to read this, write that or go discuss supplies with so and so. While he was an attentive husband, Dimitri never stepped out of his role as a king as well. Byleth could appreciate that.

"I might not age." Direct and succinct, almost to the point of abrasiveness, as was always the case with her. The king in front of her halted, his eye merely looking at the words, not reading them. She watched as the shadows from the flickering candle on the desk danced across his face. They sat there like that for some time, neither of them acknowledging the elephant in the room, until Dimitri finally broke the silence.

"What made you think that?" The words fell out of his mouth slowly.

"Seteth told me I may be like him and Rhea." He simply nodded in response, afterwards turning to meet her gaze fully.

"We'll figure it out,-" he cupped her hand with his- "together."

For the second time in her life, Byleth cried.

******************

Their life in Castle Fhirdiad had felt slow compared to the days of war, but they welcomed it wholeheartedly. They had fallen into a routine of quiet mornings, days brimming with responsibilities and nights filled with passion. The Kingdom had been prospering, peace ruled over Fódlan and they could finally take proper time to enjoy each other's company. But that's what always seemed to be the problem with them. Time.

Moon after moon, season after season, year after year, it had passed. Ten years it had been since their wedding, meaning that Dimitri was 35. Little wrinkles surrounded the features of his face, most prominent being the two creases between his eyebrows from his habit of frowning slightly whenever he read. It was one of the quirks Byleth picked up on and immediately loved. She grew to love watch him whenever he had to do paperwork, but had to result to sneaky glances, because her husband would always claim in annoyance that he "doesn't do that, you're just trying to make fun of me."

But time has also brought many things Byleth grew to despise. She never cared that much about her appearance. She found that she could just as easily make a first impression with her sword, so she never felt the need to. But then the little remarks started. She would be discussing something with one of the maids that worked around the castle, and one of them would say that she "looked good for her age" or some wife of a noble would ask her what she "uses on her skin" and so forth. 

At first it didn't get to her. A usual response of "inheriting good looks" from her parents or something among those lines would ensue and then they would move on, however the more frequent it became, the more it got to her. She learned to stop responding to words concerning her supposed beauty and people slowly learned to not bring it up. What couldn't learn to conceal the truth were the mirrors. Every time she passed one she would be treated to the same image.

The most hated one had been in their chambers, a full-length piece with intricate wood-carved patterns. A gift from some Imperial politician. Each morning and night, when she went past it, she had to bear witness to the differences between her husband and herself. It had actually been Dimitri, who suggested one night they get rid of it. She agreed.

******************

28th of Red Wolf Moon. He hadn't visited her in a month and he would be staying for just one night. The only thing, she managed to get out of Dimitri, was, that there's been some sort of unrest; he refused to tell her any more than that. His unwillingness to discuss anything about his work greatly limited the number of topics they could discuss, but Byleth didn't press the matter much further. She knew he didn't want to waste their time together.

The house she lived in was tiny, but that never bothered her. Besides, its' main draws had been the surrounding dense forest and the proximity to Felix. It had been close enough, so the trip from his castle to her cottage lasted only about half a day, thus making a visit to his childhood friend a feasible excuse to sneak of and see his wife, and it had also been far enough, that Byleth needn't worry about unexpected company.

Pretending to sleep next to him, she imagined what their life could be, if he decided to stay there. They would have to primarily rely on each other, as the closest town was quite some distance away, but that wouldn't be a problem. They would hunt together, like they often did during the war and occasionally even after it had ended. She would teach Dimitri how to tend to a garden, primarily growing various vegetables. There would be a small patch of flowers as well, but he would bring her fresh ones from the close by meadow each morning. He would chop wood for the winter, and she would patch up his clothes while he read to her by the fire. While he didn't break as many needles as he used to, he still wouldn't be quite as reliable with them as he wanted to be.

It would be nice. Or it would have been, had she had not banished the thought every time it crept into her mind. Byleth liked to approach things from a realistic standpoint, so she fully well realised that, while they would be living out a well-deserved fantasy, the Kingdom would turn to chaos with no one to take over for him. They had no children; she couldn't give him any, but even if there were, he wouldn't let go of his burdens until his back broke under them.

Worse yet, she knew what this arrangement of theirs was doing to her husband. Dimitri's attention had been split in half and not being able to give his fullest to both her and his people tore his heart in two as well. He looked exhausted and she knew that the only person, who could make a change in this situation, was her, and so she decided to take the matter into her hands.

She was worried at first, when it came to deciding on the date of her departure. She could have left while he wasn't there, but the image of the love of her life coming to an abandoned home didn't sit well with her. Not only would he blame himself even more, she didn't want to waste any potential last chances to see him.

She got up from her bed and quietly dressed herself. It still was in the early hours of the morning, long before dawn broke, but she could already make out the shapes of the dying leaves from the window. The little she was taking with her was already packed, the letter for her love written. The only thing left to do was to put it on the table and she was ready to go.

She kissed him on his forehead one last time and hesitated for a moment, standing above Dimitri. Every time she imagined how the blonde man would wake up in this moment, drowsily asking her where she was going. She would say that she just had a bad dream and was getting a glass of water. Her husband would roll over to his side, mumbling about whether she would join him in bed. She would lie.

But he was fast asleep, almost like a baby, not moving an inch even when she withdrew.

Byleth made sure the door shut quietly; he needed the rest.

******************

"He wants to see you." Byleth picked up another glass in need of cleaning. She worked at this quaint inn in one of the southern regions of Leicester Alliance. That evening Seteth paid a visit to her, the first familiar face she had seen in the last 50 years. They both waited until it was closing time, so they could have some privacy.

It shouldn't surprise Byleth that Seteth still looked as young as ever.

"Is he..." Whilst the sentence was left unfinished, the Nabatean understood.

"Sadly, yes," he informed her.

"Is it an injury?"

"An illness." Not hearing a response, he continued, "They have kept quiet about it; only the inhabitants of the castle know. He doesn't even allow his wife and children to see him. His time has come and the only person he wants to be with is you."

Byleth set the glass down. Dimitri got the right man to deliver the message, seeing as Seteth and Flayn were the only two people she had any contact with, even if it had just been in the form of correspondence.

"I am not certain, if I ever told you this," Seteth said, "but you'll always be welcome to come to me and Flayn, would you ever need anything."

"Thank you, Cichol." Byleth smiled at him and left to gather everything she needed to make the journey.

******************

She stood in front of the door leading to the room she once claimed as partly hers. She got to Fhirdiad as fast as she could, despite the winter being harsh and traveling through it difficult. She knew she didn't have time to waste.

Getting into the castle hadn't been challenging. She knew every secret passage inside and out. She had climbed through the underground halls, until she reached her destination.

Outside the king's chambers stood another very familiar face.

"He has been waiting for you, professor." Dedue's features were as inexpressive as ever, but, over the years, Byleth learned to discern little bits of emotion in them and the sadness that currently lay underneath.

"It's good to see you again, but I wish it had been under different circumstances," she said.

"Likewise." He stepped to the side, allowing her access to the room.

She didn't hesitate to step through.

"The goddess must have already claimed me, since I am able to see angels standing before me." He was smiling. His voice was raspy, his body half its usual size and his hair white and thinner than she remembered, but in her eyes he was as beautiful as ever.

"She must be kind, seeing as she allowed me to join you in afterlife." she followed up on the joke.

"Come-" he coughed and patted the chair next to the bed- "sit."

Byleth obliged quietly. Dimitri studied the face of his wife in what seemed to be awe.

"I did what you asked me to." He waved the yellowed letter in hand. "I moved on."

"I know," said the green haired woman, cupping the dying man's hand.

"We had kids. Three of them." His eye gleamed wistfully. "Before my first child came to this world, we couldn't decide on the name for the longest time. It got to the point that any day she could have given birth and we still didn't know."

He chuckled at the memory, but his laughter was cut short once the cough returned. She handed him a glass of water and waited for him to continue speaking.

"The night before the day finally came, she suggested that, we name the child after you."

Her brow furrowed. "She knew why I left?"

"Yes. Felicia's great; she never was jealous when it came to you. She actually holds you in high regard for making your choice." Byleth made a silent note to herself to go thank the woman for taking care of Dimitri.

"Anyway," he continued, "I said that, if you heard of this, you would just say that there are more deserving people my child should be named after."

She smiled; he knew her too well. "And?"

"Well, I'm fairly certain Jeralt Blaiddyd is quite fond of his name."

"Dimitri... It means so much to me," she said with a gentle squeeze of his hand. It took a lot of effort to not shed a tear.

"I want to hear everything you've been up to for these last fifty years. "

And so she talked for hours on end. Where she had been, the various jobs she had, the many people she met. She didn't know for how long she spoke, but the winter sky outside had grown dark. He mostly just listened, trying not to laugh as much and commenting on her tales only here and there, as he was trying to save his energy and hold out for as long as he could. Normally, Byleth would have given anything to be able to hear his laughter this often, but seeing the blood spurt out of his mouth as he coughed made her heart ache.

"Stay with me until the end?" he asked.

"Of course," she promised with another squeeze of the hand.

When Dedue came to check on Dimitri the next morning, he found no sign of Byleth in sight and His Highness had passed with a peaceful smile on his face.

******************

The bustling museum had finally begun to quiet down with its closing time drawing nearer. Byleth was finished with the last tour of the day. Call it nostalgia, but she always loved to linger at certain exhibitions after her shift has officially ended.

"Excuse me?" A young man, not older than the age she appeared to be approached her. "Do you work here?"

"Yes."

"Could you tell me who that is in the painting next to the One eyed king." He pointed to the oh-so familiar portrait.

Byleth smiled.


End file.
